Method and apparatus for listing goods for sale

ABSTRACT

A method for using a telephone to list a seller&#39;s good for sale on a website including the steps of receiving good-identifying information from a seller via a telephone and presenting the good for sale on a website. The good-identifying information may be received as a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a telephone. The tones may optionally be used to navigate through a voice prompt system or to provide information about the good, such as the good&#39;s UPC code, ISBN number and/or characteristics of the good. The seller&#39;s provision of a standard identification code allows the marketeer to retrieve information relating to the good from a database and to use such information to present the good for sale. Such information, and/or the characteristics provided by the seller that are specific to the good may optionally be used to set or recommend a price for the good.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. applicationSer. No. 09/427,958, filed Oct. 27, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. _______, andthis application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. _______ titled “Method and Apparatus for Listing Goodsfor Sale” (Attorney Docket No. P23897 USA), filed Aug. 20, 2001, thedisclosures of both of which are hereby incorporated herein byreference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates generally to the field of sales of goodsand particularly to a method and apparatus for using a telephone to listgoods for sale in electronic commerce applications.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] The industrial age has given rise to a global economy offactories engaged in mass production of various goods. An enormousamount of commerce is transacted in the buying and selling of suchgoods. While some such goods lose their value with use, e.g., foodproducts, many such goods retain a substantial portion of their valueeven after use or ownership by another. Such goods are referred toherein as “durable”. A considerable amount of commerce is transacted inthe buying and selling of durable goods, particularly used durablegoods.

[0004] Almost all durable goods are readily identifiable by a standardproduct identification code (“ID code”) that uniquely identifies thegood, particularly those that are mass produced. In the case of computersoftware, music cassettes or compact discs, videocassettes and digitalvideo discs, the ID code may be a human readable Universal Product Code(“UPC”), a thirteen digit ID code that is widely used to readilyidentify the good. In the case of books, magazines or otherpublications, the ID code may be a human readable ten-digitInternational Standard Book Number (“ISBN”). Other items are morereadily identified by a manufacturer or brand name and a model number,as for baseball cards and consumer electronics, e.g., a Sony® KV-3620television. Some goods may be identifiable by more than one type of IDcode.

[0005] U.S. application Ser. No. 09/427,958 (Attorney Docket No. P23305USA), now U.S. Pat. No. ______, discloses a method and apparatus forfacilitating sales of goods, particularly, used durable goods, byindependent parties. In addition, U.S. application Ser. No. 09/427,958(Attorney Docket No. P23305 USA), now U.S. Pat. No. ______, discloses amethod for pricing such goods for sale which exploits the fungible andreadily identifiable nature of such goods, e.g., by allowing a seller tolist a good for sale by identifying it by a product identification codethat is affixed to the good and/or its packaging.

[0006] Such a method is particularly convenient for sellers of a singleitem or items which may be easily transported to a computer station sothat the seller may read the product identification code from the itemand use the computer to enter the product identification code and listthe good for sale. The good may be listed for sale by using the computerto transmit the product identification code and related information tothe marketplace, e.g., website. Alternatively, the productidentification code and/or related information may be transmitted to theentity controlling the marketplace, referred to herein as the marketeer.However, such a method is inadequate for items stored in locationsremote from a computer and are not easily transported, e.g., for largeitems or items stored in large quantities.

[0007] Telephone based interfaces for interacting with websites areknown. For example, Tellme Networks, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif. (URLhttp://www.tellme.com) has developed a voice-based telephone interfaceby which users can use certain voice commands to hear information inselected categories that Tellme Networks, Inc. retrieves from the Weband transforms into audio signals. Audium Corp. (formerlyPhone2Networks, Inc.) of New York, N.Y. has developed interfaces forusing a telephone, rather than a computer, to interact with a websiteand/or the Internet. For example, Audium Corp. offers services includingPhone2Bid to track and bid on an online auction, Phone2Compare (formerlyPhone2Books) to get the real time prices from online vendors, andPhone2Quotes to get custom stock portfolio updates. Informationregarding these services was available on the World Wide Web at the timeof filing of this application at URL http://www.audiumcorp.com/products/

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The invention provides a method for using a telephone to list aseller's good for sale on a website. In one embodiment, the methodincludes the steps of receiving good-identifying information from aseller via a telephone, retrieving information relating to the good froma database, and using the retrieved information to present the good forsale on a website.

[0009] In another embodiment, the method includes the steps of receivinggood-identifying information from a seller via a telephone in the formof a series of tones generated by depression of keys of a telephone, andsubsequently presenting the good for sale on a website. The tones mayoptionally be used to navigate through a voice prompt system or toprovide information about the good, such as the good's UPC code, ISBNnumber and/or characteristics of the good, such as the good's “like new”or “poor” condition. The seller's provision of a standard identificationcode allows the marketeer to retrieve information relating to the goodfrom a database and use such information to present the good for sale.Such information, and/or the characteristics provided by the seller thatare specific to the good, may optionally be used to set or recommend asale price for the good.

[0010] In accordance with the present invention, a seller may list goodsfor sale on a website without the need for a computer, making itconvenient to list goods for sale from a location where no computer ispresent, such as a warehouse, garage, attic, or basement, but where atelephone is accessible or may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention, shown from a seller'sperspective;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the exemplary transaction of FIG. 1,shown from a marketeer's perspective;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention, shown from amarketeer's perspective; and

[0014]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a marketeer controller in accordancewith the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Websites providing a computer-based, i.e., Web, interface forlisting goods for sale on a website are known. Examples of such websitesinclude a marketplace accessible via the Internet at URLhttp://www.half.com, maintained by Half.com Inc. of Plymouth Meeting,Pa., and an auction-based website accessible via the Internet at URLhttp://www.ebay.com maintained by eBay Inc. of San Jose, Calif.

[0016] The present invention provides a method for listing goods forsale on a website using a telephone, such as a cordless or cellulartelephone. Information that could be communicated between the seller andthe marketeer using a Web-based interface is communicated to themarketeer via telephone, which makes it easier for the seller to providesuch information from locations in which a computer for accessing theWeb-based interface is not available. For example, a wireless telephonecould be used in an attic of a garage where goods are stored but whereno computer is available for accessing a Web-based interface.

[0017]FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention, shown from a seller'sperspective. As shown in FIG. 1, the seller first transmits via atelephone information identifying the seller to the marketeer, as shownat step 10. The seller may do so affirmatively, for example, by dialinga designated telephone number of the marketeer using a telephone and,when prompted to do so, depressing the keys of the telephone in asequence corresponding to an alphanumeric sequence of a seller'sidentification code, account code and/or personal identification number(PIN), e.g. as assigned by the marketeer and/or as previously selectedby the seller. As used herein, “alphanumeric sequence” refers to asequence including letters, numbers, and/or other symbols. Thedepression of the keys causes the telephone to generate a series oftones, i.e., pulses for a pushbutton rotary phone, or dual-tonemulti-frequency (DTMF) tones for a touch tone telephone, as is wellknown in the art. These tones are recognizable by the marketeer'sequipment, which translates the tones into a seller identification code,which is recognizable by the marketeer to identify the seller or anaccount of the seller or an account to be used by the seller. The selleridentification code may be assigned by the marketeer or selected by theseller. Equipment for recognizing such tones are well known in the art.Alternatively, the seller may transmit such information passively. Forexample, the telephone number of the telephone used by the seller may berecognized using a caller identification technique function, as is wellknown in the art, and that telephone number may be used to identify theseller. This information may be used by the marketeer to identify anaccount and/or other seller information previously provided to themarketeer, e.g., the seller's name, address, etc.

[0018] The seller then transmits via the telephone informationidentifying the good to be offered for sale, as shown at step 15. In oneembodiment, the seller may provide such information by using thetelephone's keys to navigate through a voice prompt system. For example,the seller may be provided with voice prompts to assist the seller toidentify his good, e.g., “Press 1 for books, 2 for music, 3 for videos .. . ”, etc. Voice-prompt telephone systems are well known in the art. Inthe preferred embodiment, the seller is instructed to depress the keysof a telephone to provide a standard identification code which uniquelyidentifies the good, such as a UPC code or ISBN number. In anotherembodiment, the seller may speak letters and/or numbers of theidentification code. In such an embodiment, the marketeer may useequipment having speech recognition software for recognizing theseller's speech and translating it into electronic data.

[0019] The seller then transmits via the telephone information relatingto a sale price for the seller's good, as shown at step 20. For example,the seller may use the telephone's keys to select a sale price from amenu of sale prices, e.g., “Press 1 for $5, 2 for $10 . . . ”, etc.Alternatively, the seller may use the telephone's keys to enter a saleprice for the seller's good, e.g., $7 by pressing the 7 key. In thepreferred embodiment, the seller is also provided opportunities, duringthe same and/or subsequent calling sessions, to revoke and/or modify thelisting of the good, e.g., the condition, the selling price, etc. Thus,an independent seller may use a telephone to list the seller's good forsale on the marketeer's website.

[0020]FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the exemplary transaction of FIG. 1,shown from a marketeer's perspective. As shown in FIG. 2, the marketeerfirst receives via a telephone information identifying a seller, asshown at step 30 and described above. Information identifying theseller's good is then received via the telephone, as shown at step 35and described above. The marketeer then receives information relating toa sale price for the seller's good, as shown at step 40. Suchinformation may include a price set by the seller, or information fordetermining a price recommended or set by the marketeer.

[0021] As shown in step 45, the marketeer presents the seller's good forsale on a website, e.g. the marketeer's website, using the informationprovided by the seller. Methods and apparatuses for presenting a goodfor sale on a website are well known. For example, the marketeer may addthe information provided by the seller to its database of goods forsale. The good need not be displayed on the website. Rather, if a buyerlater wishes to buy the good and makes an inquiry to the marketeer, themarketeer provides the potential buyer with the information provided bythe seller and/or other information about the seller's good which themarketeer may retrieve from a database of information using theinformation provided by the seller, e.g., cover art, descriptions,title, author, reviews, etc. for a book identified by the seller, orcover art, description, title, artist, song list, etc. for a musiccompact disc identified by the seller.

[0022]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an exemplary transaction in accordancewith an alternate embodiment of the present invention, shown from amarketeer's perspective. In this embodiment, the marketeer firstreceives a telephone call from the seller, as shown at step 50. Themarketeer then recognizes a telephone number of the telephone used bythe seller and references a database of seller information to determinean identity of the seller associated with the telephone number, as shownat step 55. In one embodiment, the seller is prompted to enter apersonal identification number (PIN) to verify that the seller haspermission to use the account identified. The marketeer preferablyprovides a message prompting the seller to enter a standard productidentification code identifying the good, such as a UPC or ISBN codeusing the keys of the seller's telephone. The seller then provides suchinformation by depressing an appropriate sequence of keys of thetelephone and the marketeer receives such information, as shown at step60.

[0023] The marketeer also provides a message prompting the seller totransmit information relating to a characteristic of the good, e.g.,those characteristics that are specific to the seller's good and cannotbe discerned from the standard product identification code. For example,the characteristic may be a condition of the good, e.g., that the goodis in new, very good, fair or poor condition. The seller provides suchinformation by depressing appropriate telephone keys, e.g., “Press 1 fora good in “like new” condition, press 2 for a good in “very good”condition . . . ”, etc. and the marketeer receives such information, asshown at step 65.

[0024] In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the marketeer uses the productidentification code to retrieve price information for a comparable good,e.g., a new good, from a database of price information, as shown at step70. The marketeer then uses the characteristic information provided instep 65 to calculate a recommended price for the seller's good, e.g., aused good in “like new” condition may be priced at a discount of 50%from the price for a comparable new good. In one embodiment, themarketeer may also specify a maximum allowable price using amarketeer-specified method, e.g., no more than half of a manufacturer'ssuggested retail price of a similar, new good. The marketeer thenprovides the recommended sale price to the seller, e.g., by a voicemessage transmitted via the seller's telephone, as shown at step 75. Theseller is presented with options to select the recommended sale price bydepressing a key to confirm, or to alternatively use the telephone'skeys to enter a selected sale price, as shown at step 80. The seller'sidentity, the product identification code for the seller's good, andrelated characteristic and/or price information is stored by themarketeer and the good is added to the marketeer's virtual inventory ofgoods for sale. The inventory is “virtual” in that the marketeer neednot take possession of the good to have it in its inventory. Rather, theidentification, or “listing”, of the seller's good in the marketeer'sdatabase of sale items is sufficient to place the good in themarketeer's virtual inventory. In this manner, a buyer may find the goodwhen browsing the marketeer's website.

[0025] Additionally, the product identification code may be used toretrieve information relating to the good from a database ofinformation, e.g., cover art, critics or buyers' reviews of a book, asong list for a compact disk, etc., as shown at step 85 and discussedabove. This information may be displayed on the marketeer's website topresent the good for sale, as shown at step 90, e.g., after a buyerinquires about the good. For example, a buyer may browse the website,search for a book by author, and once the book is found by the marketeerand selected by the buyer, the product identification code for the bookis checked against the marketeer's virtual inventory, the seller'slisting of the book is found, and the cover art and book review from thedatabase of related information is displayed along with theseller-provided condition of the good and selected sale price. In thisalternate manner, the seller's good is presented for sale on themarketeer's website.

[0026] The information transmitted by the seller and received by themarketeer may advantageously be received by automated systems, e.g.,computers, i.e., Web servers, in real time. In this manner ,themarketeer's website is updated and the seller's good is presented forsale, in real time, i.e., almost instantaneously.

[0027] In this manner, sellers may list goods for sale on a websitewithout the need for a computer-based interface to list good for sale.The method therefore provides sellers with an opportunity to list goodsfor sale using a wireless telephone, e.g., from a location where acomputer for accessing a website is not available, such as a warehouse,basement, attic, garage, or other location.

[0028]FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a marketeer controller 100 inaccordance with the present invention. The marketeer controller includesa central processing unit (“CPU”) 102, random access memory (“RAM”) 104,read only memory (“ROM”) 106, and a communications port (“COMM PORT”)108 connected to a network interface device 110 for communicating over acommunications network. The marketeer controller 100 also includes astorage memory including a storage device 112 for storing data includinga first program a first program for receiving via a telephoneinformation relating to a seller's good, a second program for storingelectronic data relating to a seller's good, and a third program forpresenting the seller's good for sale on a website. The marketeercontroller may optionally include a video driver (not shown) and mayoptionally be connected to a video monitor (not shown) and or an inputdevice (not shown), such as a mouse or keyboard.

[0029] In one embodiment, the information received by said the programis configured to recognize a series of tones generated by depression ofkeys of a telephone. In another embodiment, the marketeer controllerincludes a fourth program for recognizing speech in embodiments in whichthe information received by the first program is a spoken voice signalof the seller. Optionally, the marketeer controller may include a fifthprogram for retrieving information relating to the good from a database.In such an embodiment, the information retrieved by the fifth programmay be used by the third program to present the seller's good for saleon the website.

[0030] Having thus described particular embodiments of the invention,various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occurto those skilled in the art. Such alterations, modifications andimprovements as are made obvious by this disclosure are intended to bepart of this description though not expressly stated herein, and areintended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only, andnot limiting. The invention is limited only as defined in the followingclaims and equivalents thereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for listing anindependent seller's good for sale using a CPU, a memory operativelyconnected to the CPU and a program stored in the memory and executableby the CPU for presenting the good for sale on a website, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) receiving from a seller informationidentifying a good, the information comprising a series of tonesgenerated by depression of keys of a telephone; and (b) presenting thegood for sale on a website.
 2. The method of claim 2, wherein the seriesof tones navigates through a voice-prompt system.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the telephone is a touch tone telephone and wherein theseries of tones comprises tones generated by depressing the telephone'skeys in a sequence corresponding to an alphanumeric sequence of astandard identification code.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein thestandard identification code is a universal product code.
 5. The methodof claim 3, wherein the standard identification code is an internationalstandard book number.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising thestep of: (c) retrieving information relating to the good from adatabase; wherein the information retrieved in step (c) is used topresent the good for sale in step (b).
 7. The method of claim 6, whereinstep (b) is performed in real time.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe information identifying the good identifies a characteristic of thegood in addition to an identity of the good.
 9. The method of claim 6,further comprising the steps of: (d) determining a recommended saleprice for the good; (e) providing the recommended sale price to theseller; and (f) receiving from the seller a selected sale price.
 10. Themethod of claim 6, further comprising the steps of: (g) determining arecommended sale price for the good; (h) providing the recommended saleprice to the seller; and (i) receiving from the seller a confirmation ofthe seller's acceptance of the recommended sale price and using therecommended sale price as the selected sale price.
 11. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the step of: (j) receiving a selleridentification code which is recognizable in association with theseller.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the seller identificationcode received in step (j) comprises tones generated by depressing thetelephone's keys in a sequence corresponding to an alphanumeric sequenceassociated with the seller.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein theseller identification code is a telephone number of the telephone fromwhich the seller is calling, and wherein step (g) comprises recognizingthe telephone's telephone number by a caller identification technique.14. A marketeer controller for receiving from a seller informationrelating to a seller's good and for listing the good for sale on awebsite, the marketeer controller comprising: a central processing unit;a memory operatively connected to said central processing unit; a firstprogram stored in said memory and executable by said central processingunit for receiving via a telephone information relating to a seller'sgood; a second program stored in said memory and executable by saidcentral processing unit for storing electronic data relating to aseller's good; and a third program stored in said memory and executableby said central processing unit for presenting the seller's good forsale on a website.
 15. The marketeer controller of claim 14, wherein theinformation received by said first program comprises a series of tonesgenerated by depression of keys of a telephone.
 16. The marketeercontroller of claim 14, further comprising a fourth program stored insaid memory and executable by said central processing unit forrecognizing speech, wherein the information received by said firstprogram comprises a voice signal of the seller.
 17. The marketeercontroller of claim 14, further comprising a fifth program stored insaid memory and executable by said central processing unit forretrieving information relating to the good from a database, theinformation being used by said third program to present the seller'sgood for sale on the website.
 18. A method for listing a seller's goodfor sale on a website, the method comprising the steps of: (a) receivingfrom a seller information identifying a good, the information beingtransmitted via a telephone; (b) retrieving from a database informationrelating to the good; and (c) presenting the good for sale on a websiteusing the information retrieved in step (b).
 19. The method of claim 18,wherein the information transmitted in step (a) comprises a voicesignal.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the information transmittedin step (a) comprises a series of tones generated by depression of keysof a touch tone telephone.